Method of stapling



Jan. 1, 1946. D R. A PLACE 2,392,159

METHOD OF STAPLING Filed June l2, 1942 'fill/1111111 v. l M11 Li? Mada/Wma ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. l, 1946 UNITED i PAT-ENT -fo-Ff-F-Icf-E t I ...$392,159. I y

illesmondRVLa lzlace, Pittsburgh; Pa., assigner i toBocjLGorpora-tion, Pittsburgh, Ra., a! corporation of. Delaware f-Applicationaunenz; 1942; seria1Nq.{446-,697

(Cr. 1-1-'49i underlying flayersrand .beibent Y,togetlirm .wiifliin z `5. Claims.

This mvenuonrelates te the-art-of stapngng andeis-'for `an improved method of stapling.' The application is a continuation-impartofmy"copending applicationiSerial No.v 343,703; filed July y 3,`1:940,`now issued as Patent No. 2 ,302,559; `dated November l?, 194:2,A and a continuation-in-part` of `Serial No.'346,959,f'1edfJuly 23, 1940,-now issued Vas PatentNo. 2,308,611, dated J anuary=2l9, 1,943. f InI the former application1 thereis shown andL claimed a, special form 'of staple for use with my method-and inthe latter one therel is disclosed a machine`A 'or yapparatus Vfor carrying 'j out-"my method 'as vhereinv described.

' At the present time, stalplesiare'very extensively used `as fastening, means in various "industries:

Such @staples Aare Lof' thej "conventional inverted U-shaped form. f Among the limportant luses of staples at the present time .i isxthel securing together ofthe' flaps-:of various;kinds of Lfilare and cardboard .containers and cartons. [The sealing..

of cartons presents -an vespecially 'peculiarproblem because of, the difficulty of turning or^ clinching the points of' the. staple to makethem `hold after. thestaple has been zdriven. At the ,present time staplingcan be usedfor the sealing of .car-1 tons only wherethe carton isso 'constructed that somekind 'of ananvil can be inserted under theV folds 'of'theicarton against which the points of the .staple areedriven .and which turn 01 'clinch the pointsof .the staple.T Obviously, such a carton' cannot be .usedto .contain loose contentsf. a character. which can sift` through the opening necessary .to v.permit the insertion .and removal ofy the thin strip constitutinghtheanvil..1 Another serious limitation Vto .theusetofstaples at the' present `time is thevfaet thatthepoints ofthe staple.y have to be driven .completely through' the overlappinglayers 'of cardboard in ,which event they are, apt to enter, marior'damage the ,contents ofthe box.

According .to theypresent invention,"there1 is provided a .novelmethod'of stapllng wherein the points of the staple 4.are automatically 'clinched -or folded in toward eachother iafter; the ystaple has been .driven a predetermined i distance. clinching may take place/eitherafter' the `points are .completely through. the; layers which are ,to be stapled, or. they may 'be' clinched faftenpthey have entered a predetermined'` distance but before the pointsy have .completely penetrated" the fullI thickness'of the material." ,For example, 4acccrdingto the presentv invention, Lthere is provided la staple orlike driven 'fastener' whichcan be A'used for' the' sealing'togetherofoverlapping'layers-'of a carton 'where the'legs `ofgthe-staplewill-pass#r completely through the topl layerandfenter^the thenthiekness; offenen; undermine'y Vlaver. so that they .deY 'not :penetrate the rull; thickness of .the underlying 'layer vand,:therefore,-y cannot`V `damage orinjure;the'contents oirtlie. lbox or c artonsyThe invention further :provides armethod. of stapling invwhich the clinching. roi; the staple. is -effeeted entirely without: the fuse. ofgany anvil underrthe inner' lift-:andl .isf` controlled entirely .from`v the driver.

In my co-pnding .1. application, ..-:Serial i; 3469'59,A filed Jt11y"23y 5:1940; thereflisldlscled..81?

driver for driving1- theastaples as zherein zdisclosed in accordance-#with the `method 'herein :described According to"y the .present invention; Ythe leg: vTof the staple itself` is provided 4with -anputWa'rdIy is'driven in theusual manner'and then a-iollow'er moving down-the outside'of each leg of the staple, striking lthe burr, creates a bending :moment tending to bend the'pointsof' the sta1 les."f''lxe` #extent to .which thele'gs lare Ibent inwardly "is,

determined b-yfthe travel 1of the `follower.

fMy invention. may Y-loe more v-iully understood byeference to theaccompanying drawing which illustrates certain embodiments :of myy invention n andin Which:

Figure I is a perspective'view showing a row of. .staples ,constructed in. accordance with the present invention positioned above overlying lay-Y ers of corrugatedlbre boar-d with the driving 'Y element position'edover the. staple which is to be nextdriven;

,Figure IIE is a side elevationof. onefof thestaples embodying .my invention;

Figure.y IIL-is, a transverse `vertical. section i vtl-irough'thestaple shown in Figure 1I;

:FigureIV is amore-or less schematic viewiillustrating'the .rst..step in :the method of 1driving the! staple;

fE-'igure V- isy a similaigview showing'. a staple'v .f-:Figure Nilis aviewsimilartoliigure V showing' the A ev,erlanping=. layers-ofmaterial through, the stanle and through the `driver;l where the,V driver isi'illustrated:

f- :rieure-wmf 1s `a. f viewsimuamto; rieure showing a :rnoziiiicationffwhereinr :the :ends ofvthe ing out my invention; and

Figure XIII is a bottom plan view of the of the driver shown in Figure XII. Y l y Referring rst to Figures II and III, vthe staple is illustrated Vas being of conventional form formed of narrow at strip material havingva cross bridge 2 and parallel legs 3. The endsof-y thesev legs Ymay be square or they may be suitably sharpened or chiseled to facilitate the entering of the stapleinto the material into which `it is" to be driven; `Each leg is provided intermedi- Late its'ends with a protruding burr or lug 4 thereon. The lug is* preferably formed by'punching the metal 'from whichf the staple is'formed in such manner'that the lugs llicomprise outwardly I and upwardly extending tongues that are severed `along the top sides thereof from the metal, being attached to the metal along their bottom edge along the line marked 5 in Figure II. vThis punching of the metal not'only 'serves to form the lug fbut Lalso serves Yto weaken theleg transversely in the general plane of the line A--A inFigureII.

In the operation of stapling,; the staples are usually delivered in succession toa driver. In Figure Ithere is shown such a succession of staples 2. B designates one'of two overlying thicknesses of corrugated cardboard oriibre board, and B shwingstiu :mi l

' Figure XII is an elevation, partly in section, of g one form of driver which may be used'in'. Vcarry- 2,392,159 e Y f Y e: piji legs YD'of the follower are preferably ofthe Width' of the'staple, and while being quite thin, are formed of a rigid material. They may be sharpened very slightly as illustrated to facilitate their entering the material.V Preferably, the legs D of the follower move down into the material along the outsiderof the staple as thestaple is being driven as illustrated in Figure V. When the further downward movement of the'staple-and the driver C is stopped, the legs ofthe follower Acontinue to move on down. They strike and push j `down-on the burrs or projections 4. Since the portion s .e i5

designates the other layer. B and B may, for ex- Y ample, bev two overlying flaps at the end of a carton. In the conventional practice of staplingthe staples are at the present time usually driven diagonally to both edgesof theY carton, and in Figure I Ythey have been illustrated in a position diagonal'to the free edgesof the sheets B and B. In FiguresIV to IX, however, no attempt has been made-to indicate such positioning ofthe staple, and it will beunderstood that the position y or direction of the staple with reference tothe material in which it is to be driven is unimportant and forms no part of .the present invention,

' and is mentioned here only to indicate thai-the staple may be used in the conventional ways that Yordinary staples are now employed. y u

According to .the present invention, Vthe staple as shown in Figures II and III is driven into'the material to itsfull limit and then the points are Vturned inwardly, In Figures I and IV to VIII instaple itself cannot be moved down further, this pressure being applied to a point at one side of Vthe plane ofthe leg ofthe staple creates a bending moment causing the free ends of the staple to be turned inwardly. This bending moment-is made more effective by the weakening of the staple transversely in the general plane of the line AK-A of Figure II, while in FgurevVI theV Yfollower is shownat the full downward limit ofv its travel, and the, free ends of the staple-are bentv in horizontally. The extentof bendingof i the free ends of the legs of the staplesis determined by the movement of the follower. `It is not necessary toeffectively Vhold the staple thatthe ends be bent at vright anglesto their original plane.V Even if theysare bent in to only a slight angle they will, inrmost cases, satisfactorily hold the material. Onthe other hand, thestaples can be'bentpast .1a. 9 0` turn if the ymovement oftheV follower is continued beyond kthe point shown in Figure VI. This, however, is usually not neces'- sary or desirable. Y Y Y f In Figures IV. to VII inclusive, the lengthv of the staple is such that/When the staple is driven into its full depth Vas illustrated in Figure V,l the ends protrude well below the under-surface of the bottom layer B of fibre board, Vand the burrs happento coincide with the planeof the under- Y surface of the layer B. Y

Y Where it is desired to turn'the ends of the staple inwardly without them projecting at all or only slightly through vthe bottom layer of material be f .Y

fore they are turned, the method illustrated :in Figures VIII and IXmay be employed. In this case the staple is made of a length insuiiicient to completely pass'through the lower layerof ma- Vterial or may be of a length such'as' to barely elusive, the method of stapling is clearly illus- V Y trated. VVTheV driver. which forces the staple-into the material and whichimay be of any suitable Vcon'structi'c'm and maybe either manually or mechanically voperated is designated C. andv'D indiV cates a' follower which preferably is associated with'the driverbut which maybe separate therefrom. Whenr the staple has been brought'to the proper'position on thetop layer B ofthe carton orY other surface intorwhichthe staple is to be driven, pressure is applied to the top of the staple by Y'means of the driver C. This forces the staple V*into the material to the* full depth permitted by the crossfbridge 2. `When the staple has been driven to Vthe full depth to which it is or can be -moved by the driver C, the legs D ofthe follower which are spaceda width' equal .to the outside width of the staple are forced downwardly. These caught underff theV inwardly turned .legs and.' pressed against the layerof .bre constituting the pass through the 'lower layer of'material, and

the' location 'of the burr is determined to assure bending of theA staple within the thickness of the material. The'former condition is'illustrated in Figures VIII and IX. In this case, whenl the e staple isdriven to its full depth, the legs D of theV follower operate to turn the legs inwardly within the ythickness of the lower layer of materialV B'. YThe points of the staple, in moving toward each otherrwithin the fibre board itself, tear their way I through the fibre board. Thisl is especially illustrated in FigureIX where the corrugated Ylayer B2 is illustrated as being torn" away at B3, and the portionofthe corrugation so torn away is top surface of the sheet B.

From the'foregoing description it will Vbeseen that the invention in its preferred embodimentv contemplatesJthe use of a staple of a readily bendable material having a Vbridge or Vhead portion and having legs. Each leg is ineifect divided into a primary upper portion and a secondaryv lower portion, andr theburr-or 4nib is located at the pointv ofrjuncture of these' two portions, and the legis also ,preferably weakenedin some mani ner so that when pressure is applied in an axial direction toward the free end of the leg, the lower or secondary portion of the leg will tend to rotate about an axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of the leg. The burr or nib is made wide enough, with reference to the total width of the leg, or strong enough that it will transmit a bending moment to the leg instead of merely bending over without turning the leg.

Instead of the staple `being formed `from fiat sheet metal, it may be formed of either square or round wire, and the burr or nib 4 may be formed in some other way to produce the desired result. Figure X illustrates a modication wherein the fastener is illustrated as having a crossbar or head portion 6 and a leg portion 1. Intermediate its ends the leg portion is crimped or bent outwardly in such manner as to form a projection to be engaged by the follower D, and the shape of the bend is such that downward pressure on the top of the offset portion causes the lower portion of the leg to swing inwardly. A complete fastener in the form of a letter C is provided on the completion of the driving operation. It will be understood that the structure shown in Figure X may be made out of flat sheet metal or that the modification shown in Figure X may be incorporated in a two-leg fastener instead of a single-leg fastener. f v

In the modication shown in Figure XI, there is illustrated another form of fastener having a single leg with a cross-bar or head 8 and a leg portion 9 which is bent at l0 in the manner shown in Figure X, the fastener being of a generally T-shaped form. With this arrangement, however, it is contemplated that the leg will be bent in a plane perpendicular to the body or crossbar 8 rather than parallel with it as illustrated in the preceding modifications.

Under some circumstances, especially with soft cardboard or with the less rigid boxes, as for example a cake box, the pressure exerted for clinching the staple may tend to push the staple through the paper or push the paper away from the driving implement. In such case a driver, such as shown in Figure XII and more fully shown in my co-pending application 346,959 (Figures 8 to 10) may be used in which there is a sleeve 25 about the cylindrical barrel 'I of the driving tool, this barrel having a notch 26 there- A in through which the staple is driven and in this notch there is a little tongue 21 or support that extends under the bridge of the staple to limit the depth to which the staple is driven. After the driving of the staple, the sleeve is moved back to withdraw the support or tongue from under the staple. In this view 20 is the driver and 2l designates the follower that does the clinching. Since this tongue limits the extent to which the staple is ejected and also holds the staple in fixed position with reference to the driver, it is possible to satisfactorily drive and clinch the staple in light material or flimsy boxes. This driver using a support may be employed with staples that pass entirely through the lower lift or with those that are clinched within the lower lift.

My invention as described, provides for the use of a fastener of the staple type having one or more legs with a bending nib or burr intermediate the end of each leg by means of which the free end portion of each leg may be caused to turn at an angle to the original axis of the leg by the application Of pressure to the top of the nib or burr. The nib or burr is so designed that it does not obstruct or increase the dliiiculty of driving the staple. The invention is in the method wherein the turning of the point of the staple is controlled entirely from the driver without the use of any anvil to engage the points of the fasteners.

While I have illustrated and described certain preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that the invention is not conned to the particular construction and arrangement of the parts illustrated but that various modiications may be made in both the staple and in the ways of using it within the contemplation of my invention and under the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. The method of stapling which comprises positioning a rigid supporting element over the material into which the staple is to be driven, driving a staple having projections in the legs thereof into the material until the bridge of the staple is restrained against further movement by engagement with the supporting element, applying a driving force in a direction normal to the bridge of the stap-le against the projections on the legs of the staples to create a bending moment in the end portions of the legs of the staple to clinch the end portions of the legs of the staples, and then withdrawing the rigid supporting element.

2. In the method of stapling with a staple having a projection on the legs thereof intermediate the end of the legs, which comprises interposing a, rigid element in the path of movement of the staple to engage the under side of the bridge of the staple after the staple has been driven a predetermined distance, and holding the staple against said element while applying a force in a direction normal to the bridge of the staple against the projections on the legs of the staple to bend the legs of the staples intermediate their ends to clinch the terminal portions of the legs,

3. The method of fastening utilizing a fastener with a head portion and a leg portion with the leg having a lateral projection between its ends,

driving the fastener into the material into which it is to be driven and then applying pressure to said projection from the direction of the head of the fastener toward the point to bend the leg of the fastener intermediate its ends.

4. The method of fastening overlapping layers of material with a driven fastener having a head portion and a leg portion, the leg having a projection thereon intermediate its ends, which method comprises the driving of the fastener through the upper thickness of material into the lower thickness of material and then applying pressure to the projection on the leg of the fastener from the direction of the head of the fastener toward the end of the leg to bend the leg portion of the fastener between its ends.

5. The method of fastening through the use of a driven fastener having a head portion and a leg portion which comprises driving the leg portion of the fastener a predetermined depth into the material, but not through it, the leg portion of the fastener being provided with a projection intermediate its ends, and thereafter applying a force parallel to theqdirection of the leg of the staple against said projection to generate a bending force in the leg of the staple to turn it in the body of the material.

DESMOND R. LA PLACE. 

